scope:

This part of IEC 61131 specifies communication aspects of a programmable controller. It specifies from the viewpoint of a PC how any device can communicate with a PC as a server and how a PC can communicate with any device. In particular, it specifies the behavior of the PC as it provides services on behalf of other devices and the services the PC application program can request from other devices. It is not intended to specify how any device can communicate with any device using a PC as a router or gateway. The behavior of the PC as a communication client and server is specified independent of the particular communication subsystem, but the communication functionality may be dependent on the capabilities of the communication subsystem used.

The scope of this part is a subset of the "communication model" shown in figure 2 of IEC 61131-3; namely figures 2c and 2d are included in the scope of this part. Additionally, the means defined in this part of IEC 61131 may be used for communications within a program or between programs.

The mapping of the PC behavior to some particular communications subsystems is provided in the annexes.